Being able to automatically identify similar songs is a capability with many applications. For example, a music lover may desire to identify cover versions of a favorite song in order to enjoy other interpretations of that song. As another example, copyright holders may want to be able identify different versions of their songs, copies of those songs, etc. in order to insure proper copyright license revenue. As yet another example, users may want to be able to identify songs with a similar sound to a particular song. As still another example, a user listening to a song may desire to know the identity of the song or artist performing the song.
While it is generally easy for a human to identify two songs that are similar, automatically doing so with a machine is much more difficult. However, with millions of songs readily available, having humans compare songs manually is practically impossible. Thus, there is a need for mechanisms which can automatically identify similar songs.